Pani Poni Dash! Fan Fiction / Mahou Sensei Negima! Fan Fiction ❯ Act II: Nightmare!? ❯ Episode 7: "Who Finds Love in a Nation of Fools?" by Yuzuko ( Chapter 7 )

Nightmare?!

Episode 7: “Who Finds Love in a Nation of Fools?” by Yuzuko

“So Negi.”

“Yes, Asuna-san?”

“It's Sunday, right?”

“Yes it is.”

“So maybe you can explain to me why are we STANDING IN FRONT OF A SCHOOL?!” Asuna roared at the front steps of Peach Moon. With last night's chaos finally over, the team could get some rest. Upon finishing said rest, though, Negi and his crew made a beeline for the school. While Asuna's rage to the heavens was loud, the other people around her weren't surprised in the least.

“Asuna's never been a fan of school,” Konoka happily pointed out, though this was stating the obvious to 3-A. Most of the cast of 1-C had other arrangements to deal with, but swore up and down that they'd help look for Becky as soon as they were done.

“Well, Becky might be here!” Negi explained as if it were the most obvious answer in the universe, as decreed by Captain Obvious himself.

“That's all well and good, but if you even THINK of trying to teach class right now, I'm going to pummel you a new one,” Asuna leered hard at the boy. “Got me?”

“Yes ma'am!” Negi nodded vigorously, wanting to avoid a beating and find Becky as soon as possible. They walked briskly through the gates.

“By the way, Negi-sensei...” Nodoka piped up. “The Kashiwagi twins mentioned that something was going on here despite there not being school today. Please be careful.”

“What kind of thing?” Akira asked.

“Eh? Look!” Makie pointed towards the entrance of the school.

Standing on guard was a massive creature, a muscular green reptile with mechanical claws and twin drill tails. Somehow, yellow eyes stared from the mouth of the offending creature. Had Peach Moon mutated overnight?!

Turns out that fierce monster wasn't a threat—the mouth lifted open, and a girl's face appeared! “Eh? Are you Negi Springfield-sensei?” The girl asked.

Negi blinked. What was this, again? “Yes...?”

Nodoka peered closer, and recognition set in like a lit fuse. “Wait, aren't you...?”

“Negi-sensei, please help!” Yuzuko Kurusu pleaded from the mouth of that strange creature.

“W-what?!” Negi reeled back, completely not expecting the girl to either be still willingly be eaten by the monster in front of them or knowing his name.

“I know we haven't spoken much, but you're the only staff here right now!” The girl pleaded. “Please lend us a hand!”

“What? You and the monster that's eating you?” Asuna pointed out, completely flummoxed.

“No, no! This is a costume!” Kurusu quickly amended their misunderstanding of the situation, ruining the fun of the audience. She lifted the jaw and stood straight, revealing the costume aspect in full. “I'm a member of the Movie Club!”

“So what's going on here, then?” Akira asked.

“To put it shortly, the Drama Club and Movie Club are at war.”

“At war?!” Negi and friends exclaimed in shock.

“Well, it's kinda sorta an exaggeration, but...” Kurusu dropped her voice, as if she were telling a legendary rumor. “You guys haven't been here for very long, but we the Movie Club and the Drama Club have always been bitterly fighting one another. At one time it was said that only one or the other could exist, so we've been fighting for supremacy... but the faculty were so amused that they kept both clubs around. It's been even... up until now.”

Negi and his harem leaned in closer, gulping loudly.

“The Drama Club got new recruits—and they're all freakishly good!” Kurusu's voice wavered with fear. “They recruited the maid girl, Behoimi-chan and a huge muscle-bound freak and a guy with an untrustworthy smile! I can't compete with Roboko at this rate...”

Negi paused. He knew those people. The Student Mage Council had introduced themselves to Negi just the previous night, and seeing as they heard of his desire to find Becky, they may have moved in the find her first—and not knowing of their motives, he couldn't allow that. Still... “As a new faculty member, I can't take sides with this... war you speak of,” Negi answered solemnly. Although it broke his little heart to see Kurusu's dejected face, he had to lay that groundwork first. BUT. “However, due to some... untrustworthy students you speak of, this merits investigation. I will help you look into this.”

“Really?!” The girl lit up like a bright idea. “Thank you!”

“This looks suspicious...” Asuna deadpanned.

“Not much of a choice but to roll with it for now,” Makie cheered. “Let's go forward!”

“In return, please help me out!” Negi counter-pleaded. “I'm looking for someone in the school, and those obviously suspicious people you mentioned might be chasing after her first!”

“I dunno how easy it will be or how useful I am, but I'll help!” Kurusu bowed rapidly towards the little boy. “Please count on me!”

“If those suspicious people you're talking about are the people who I think they are, count me in, too!” Asuna suddenly declared, netting a bit of surprise on Negi's end. “I still have a hell of a lot of questions for them.”

There were nods of agreement.

“We'll begin the search, too. Keep your eyes peeled, Negi-sensei and Kurusu-san,” Setsuna advised, crouching into a near aggressive fighting stance. “Darkness lurks in many forms.”

Darkness lurked in many forms, alright, and it might be even closer than they thought.

xxx

“So what happens next, Kurusu-san?” Negi asked the girl in the Godzilla suit.

“We have to find Roboko, first!” The girl said, regarding Negi with kind eyes. “My classmates in Movie Club said that she's up to something downstairs...”

“Isn't that wording a bit screwed up?” Asuna questioned (to which Konoka added “Ten points!”).

“Downstairs?” Negi blinked. “I haven't been around this school for too long, what's downstairs?”

“Our great movie set!” Kurusu was bubbling with happiness. “The drama club uses a lot of props, but the soundstage downstairs will allow us to make the settings more authentic!”

“Ooh!” The 3-A girls marveled.

“Sounds very nice,” Negi agreed, some child-like wonder sneaking into his reserved speech. “So what play are you trying to make?”

Kurusu stopped and faced the group “The perfect appeal to the masked man—Phantom of the Opera!”

“Phantom of the Opera?!” Asuna's eyes twinkled as if Christmas came early and dragged her birthday along for the ride. “The older guy in the movie was so coool!” Figures she only notices the actors' looks.

The dramatic reveal was lost on Negi, though—he noticed something else. “Huh? Masked man? Who are you talking about?”

“He was a strange man in a white tuxedo and beautiful hair, and had a top hat,” Kurusu answered. “He wondered if the play or the movie was the better medium, so our club moved in to prove him that we were the answer...”

“Eh? That definitely sounds like...” Asuna began.

“...the Black Rose Baron!” Negi and the rest of 3-A finished.

“Black Rose... who?” Kurusu blinked.

“This man's been evading us and acting mysterious a lot...” Konoka answered. “Did he seriously challenge you guys to fight each other?”

“No... it just kinda escalated into a competition to see who'd get his attention in the end...”

With that answered, Asuna went back into ZOMG DREAMY ACTORZ mode. “That older guy that played him in that movie had a dreamy outfit and was sooo cool! Are you trying to entice that Black Rose Baron into the lead?”

“I think Negi-kun would be a better lead!” Makie declared, completely not getting the character at all.

“What? No way!”

“Umm, girls?” Negi tried, but to no avail.

“Maybe...” It was here that Kurusu started to lose her usual happy energy. “But I thought the Baron might want us to prove that we can act...”

“Kekeke, perhaps the reason is you can't,” There was a mighty boasting. All eyes fell to the sudden shadows above them. Kurusu snarled and flipped on her suit, showing full Godzilla-ripoff mode.

There, in her boxy pink outfit, stood the almighty Roboko... all seven of them.

“Eeh?! There's way too many!” The Movie Club girl panicked.

“Those robots look weak compared to Dr. Eggman's,” Akira noted calmly.

“Oh ho ho ho! I perfected shadow clones, Gojikko! You won't stop me now!” The great boxy robot gloated. “Prepare for trouble!”

“And make it... ummm... seven times that amount!” Another Roboko clone added.

“Oh no! I'm not listening to you clone yourself and recite poetry, robo-ninja!” Asuna jabbed a finger in the robot's direction. “You're gonna give me answers about who I am! Like right now.”

“Asuna!” Konoka hissed, weary of any slip of the tongue about magic to Kurusu's ears.

“Eep!” One of them flinched from Asuna's deadly leer. “I'll be running for now, but you can't catch me! C'mon, you won't do it!” With that, the Roboko sent her six clones in all directions, and she dashed off right back where she came.

Wait a minute, Negi thought. This could be a trap... Six clones plus Roboko—she's trying to waste our time! But Asuna-san—wait, I got it. Negi suddenly spoke up. “She's trying to trick us, those clones are fake! Kurusu-san, we'll head after the real one! Asuna-san, pick one and go after it!”

“What?!” Asuna's head was spinning from this. “What's the point?!”

“If you get one of them alone, you can finally ask your questions,” Negi smiled reassuringly.

“Oh, right!” Asuna got ready to dart after one of them.

“C'mon, Secchan! We can't let them get away!” Konoka rallied, pumping her fist before running after one of the escaped “robots”.

“Everyone, stop as many as you can!” Negi said as he and Kurusu dashed down a hallway.

“Okay!” Our heroes split apart, chasing the robots in hope of springing the mysterious trap prematurely...

xxx

The noon sun failed to pierce through the school hallways—the shades were so strong that the sun looked more like moonlight here. Konoka was reminded heavily of a serenade ball. So why was it so dark here...?

“Ojou-sama, is it wise to walk down here?” Setsuna murmured to her charge. Makie followed them, apparently bummed that she already lost her target. “There doesn't seem to be much going on in this area other than some suspicious shading...”

“Now that you mention it...” Konoka tapped a finger to her lip, as if she were in deep though. “I see no sign of that boxy weirdo, just some shades... And isn't it too quiet around here?”

“Ah!” Makie interjected. “I think you're right!” The rusted but still functional cogs in Baka Pink's brain began to turn—perhaps a bit late compared to the yuri pair's well-oiled machine, but still! Shouldn't there be more sounds of bickering students and fighting than this? All she's hearing are a few voices down the hall and someone... hanging up blinds?

The three of them found a girl that was in fact, putting up blinds and making the place just a bit darker. Setsuna and Makie thought she looked kinda familiar, but they weren't very bright and decided her identity was unimportant.

Konoka, however, was at least smart enough to ask what she was doing. “Why are you making this place so dark?”

“Eh?” The girl blinked. “Oh, actually the camera guys were having difficulty with their dark room, so they asked me to shade this place down. Besides, this dark mood fits the theme of this hopeless war, does it not?”

“What do you mean?” Setsuna couldn't quite grasp the the girl's waxing poetic about the situation. “Isn't war always hopeless?”

“Ah, no wonder this place is so dark! She must be the Pungeon Master!” Makie exclaimed (to which Setsuna immediately countered with “Four points!”).

“Not quite,” The girl nervously giggled. “There was a masked man who decreed that there were several movies that were also plays.” The other three girls exchanged looks, remembering the Black Rose Baron. “Upon seeing him, both the drama club and the movie club wondered which one had the superior adaptations, seeking approval of this strange man. But he refused to take sides,” She slowly turned to the girls and gazed at them. The stare was so intense Makie even instinctively covered herself. “He listed both their strengths and weaknesses, thus prompting both sides to launch into a fierce competition over the same play—they who do it best can freely rule the fate of the other club. It's truly poetic, isn't it?”

“Umm...” Makie wanted to understand, but as the official Baka Pink she wasn't allowed to!

“Hey, you should cut back on the insults to Makie-san, please,” Konoka waved her hand, as if shooing off some insect. Well excuuuuuse me, princess.

Setsuna stayed quiet, though she kept a hand to her heart. Why was that girl's stare so... chilling?

“So tragic. Perhaps you'll be interested in taking a side, or at least watching its beauty,” The girl focused her gaze onto Konoka, moving close. “I know I would.”

“Quaint,” Setsuna snapped back to her senses upon seeing a threat to Konoka. Her voice dropped to icy levels as she continued. “But we'll have to take our leave for now. Thanks,” And with that, she grabbed Konoka's hand and stalked off, with Makie skittishly following behind.

The lonely girl sighed again. “Did I step into someone's else's territory? Shame, they were so pretty... But I guess that means Negi-kun is here, yes?” She gently ran fingers through her hair.

xxx

“Blue hedgehog, slow down!” Windia cried petulantly, flapping her tiny wings and flying as fast as she could.

“Screw you, I can do whatever I want!” Sonic boasted. The hedgehog continued to stealthily speed along the hallways, dodging people before they even got a chance to recognize that he was there. Monitoring Negi and pals for the sake of a villain wasn't his idea of fun, and no matter what kind of blackmail that swan dude had, there was no way he'd be doing someone else's bidding! Especially since last night, where he was at the business end of Negi's angry partners, including that Chupacabra hunting girl.

“You're misunderstanding again, aren't you?!” Windia insisted. “Big brother's not asking you to go fight that boy!”

“What's there to misunderstand? Super villain wants me to make life miserable for the only dude on the planet who treats me with respect! At least Egghead wasn't this lazy and jerk-like!”

“You are misunderstanding! I'm gonna tell big brother than you're a bigger jerk than he is!”

“What can I say, I aim to please!”

Suddenly, a thought occurred to the owl girl. “So if you're not interested in doing big brother's bidding, why are you here in the first place?”

“Easy enough, I'm looking for something else for Swan Dark and Evil to mess with!” Sonic finally skidded to a stop, finally allowing the girl to catch up. “I don't have much of a choice in the matter, after all. You said it yourself, I don't need to fight them, I just need to keep them out of dork boy's hair, and vice versa!”

“So you were intentionally being thick?!”

Sonic yawned. “And the last horse finally crosses the finish line...”

“Hmph!” Windia simply harrumphed and decided that hedgehog bait tasted like crap.

The blue hedgehog started jogging again. “Basically just a bunch of people doing what they normally do... I don't see anything out of the ordinary.”

“Of course you don't,” A voice stopped Sonic in his tracks, and both he and Windia dodged as a shape skidded past them, sliding into a stop opposite of the pair. A flip of a cape revealed a mysterious person in a white tuxedo and top hat. “The darkness has not yet awakened!”

Sonic blinked. “Who are you again?”

“Afternoon with green tea, hailing from a foggy country... Love and Bravery's Ambassador of friendship,” Black petals from Chaos-knows-where streamed down nearby this shady person. “They call me the Black Rose Baron!”

“Oh, oh right, pretty boy villain,” Sonic waved off the introduction. “What do you want?”

“Have you seen Miyamoto, chupacabra?” The Baron asked.

“I'm Sonic, I'm a hedgehog.” Sonic shot back, annoyed. “And no, I haven't!”

The Baron suddenly pulled out a picture of a chupacabra. “This is a chupacabra.”

“...” Both Sonic and Windia stared mutely.

“This is a hedgehog,” The baron shuffled the picture, showing an ordinary hedgehog in place of the chupacabra.

“I see the difference...” Sonic stated, though he likely wasn't paying attention at all.

“And this is you.” The wily baron showed off a picture of Sonic—as envisioned by a five-year-old horror artist. Sonic looked awfully like a chupacabra... “See the resemblance?”

Windia laughed hard.

“THAT PICTURE IS AWFUL!” Sonic shouted back incredulously.

“I'll use a better picture if you get a good 3-D game,” The Baron countered wittily.

Sonic smacked himself as the Baron skipped away, chuckling heartily like a reverse trap Santa Claus. “I've been trolled so hard since I got here.”

“And you're taking it out on me?” Windia said between fits of laughter. “Serves you right!”

“Enough of that,” Sonic suddenly spoke up. Windia noticed Sonic's eyes flicker to the right. Following his line of sight, the owl girl noticed someone in a boxy robot suit sprint full speed down the hallway. A grin crossed his face. “I think we have our first lead.”

Windia righted herself, floating in the air. “What about that baron?”

Sonic started his maximum sprint again. “Screw him, he's just as lost as we are!”

That hedgehog was likely wrong, but we won't spoil that for him now will we?

xxx

Not for the first time in her life, Nodoka Miyazaki tripped.

However, in a epic first-time-ever screw up, she tripped onto another girl. Who had also tripped.

“Ouch...” The demure librarian was the first to recover. She turned to her sad compatriot in losing a foothold, but all she saw in her head area was a small mat of red hair, barely reaching her ears. “Are you okay?”

“Uguu...” The girl's whiny voice sifted through despite still being face down. “I'm still way too clumsy.” Nodoka grabbed her hand and helped her up. The girl turned a grateful smile. “Thank you. I'm normally this clumsy, but if its hitting someone else, then maybe this school really is getting weirder...”

“I haven't even been here for a whole week yet, and I noticed that too!” Nodoka said.

“Ever since that new transfer student showed up in Becky-sensei's class...”

“Transfer student?” Nodoka and the girl began a leisurely walk.

“Yes. Watanuki says she might know about these strange events going on in the school,” The girl continued. For no reason at all, Nodoka tripped again. “...including my clumsiness being contagious...”

“Aiyah...” Nodoka sighed.

From out of the blue, a Roboko appeared! Dashing at maddening speed past the girls, the Roboko laughed manically as a dude masquerading as a robot with no emotional range could—that is to say not very well at all. “Home free.” The girls heard.

Then the robot tripped on Chaos-knows-what and crashed magnificently into the ground.

Taking a brief moment to recover, the robot's face compartment swung open, only to reveal a certain Connor Gavet. With far more emotion than a robot should have, Robo-Connor raged hard. “SAKURAAAAIIIIIIIIII!”

xxx

A colossus of a city stood down here—it was no wonder that Negi actually had to stop and marvel at its beauty for a moment.

“Whoa...” Negi took in the sight of it—buildings, despite being made of plastic and cardboard, towered over him like real skyscrapers, and painted with realistic colors to match. It was beautiful, to be honest with you. His eyes sparkled like the teeth in a toothpaste commercial.

Kurusu walked beside him. “Great, isn't it? The Movie Club put a lot of effort into it... I'm not going to screw it up this time.” She turned to him, seeing his eyes were still sparkling. “Negi-sensei?”

“So cool...” Negi breathed.

Kurusu sighed. “Negi-sensei... well, this is the first time I've seen you act your age.” Woman, that's the first time in this story ANYONE'S seen him act his age! Be more impressed! “Eh?” Well, sorry. Anyway, Kurusu suddenly noticed the door close behind her. She whirled around to try and open it up again, but found that not only would it not budge, it had also changed into a blue color and had these strange tendrils all around it!

That can't be good, especially since Negi didn't notice.

Kurusu sighed and decided to ignore it for now. Her destiny to bring down the great Roboko and save the Movie Club from extinction was here... no doubt about it. She turned back around to see that Negi was walking further in. “Wait, Negi-sensei!”

Negi stopped, but not just from Kurusu's voice. Somebody caught his eye.

Kurusu followed the boy's curious eyes to see... “Roboko! The real one!”

The girl in the boxy robot suit turned to see them. “Ah, crap! Earlier than I expected!”

“She's fixing the buildings, the fiend!” The girl in the Godzilla suit cried.

“Um, are we sure that's a bad thing?” Negi asked sheepishly.

“Enough of this! We settle this now, Gojikko!” Roboko crowed, pointing a clawed hand in Kurusu's direction.

“Fine...” Kurusu growled, also assuming a fighting stance as best as she could in the thick suit.

Negi looked worriedly between the two fighters. “Isn't there some sort of misunderstanding going on here?!”

“No, there isn't!” Roboko crowed. “I am only defending this sacred land from the likes of the Movie Club, and you meddling kids! And this time, I'm getting away with it.”

“I'm defending this great movie set from the likes of the Drama Club and their nefarious schemes!” Kurusu bellowed in response. “I won't let you do as you please!”

“Isn't this the textbook definition of misunderstanding?!” Negi cried in frustration, but to no avail. Humanity's urge to fight exceeds all logic... hatred included!

Ignoring Negi's frustration, the boxy robot pulled out the first attack, sending a robotic claw towards Kurusu. The Godzilla encased girl dodged swiftly, whirling her tail to counterattack. The boxy robot blocked the move with her right arm, and both parties locked arms, growling like the silly people in monster suits they were.

Negi wasn't enjoying this at all. “C'mon girls! Please stop!” But of course, this fell on deaf ears as Roboko charged in for a shoulder tackle, and Gojikko pushed forward to counter this.

Feeling this was going nowhere, Negi decided enough was enough. He sprinted towards the warring duo, jumped up high, and with tremendous force, slammed between them. “Stop this at once!” So shocked at Negi's easy reversal to his adult-like behavior, the girls had to stop mid-Falcon-Punch to prevent making him a casualty.

Satisfied that the violence had ended, Negi opened his eyes and glared at each of them. “Kurusu-san, I thought your highest priority was to defend this place, was it not?”

“Kurusu-san?!” Roboko flinched. The figurative “plot-twist” smashed her like an angry delinquent. “No way...”

“And you...” Negi turned his head over to the girl in the robot suit. “Roboko... you're Akane Serizawa, aren't you? The last member of the SMC? I thought you guys were supposed to be model students! Why are you using such underhanded tactics to keep an eye on others?”

“Serizawa-san...?” The girl in the Godzilla suit stepped back, as if struck. “You mean we...”

“All this time...” Serizawa whispered.

Apparently, this was something not even Negi was expecting. “Wait... you two know each other?”

“We were...” Kurusu began.

“...friends...” Serizawa finished.

Negi started, “But isn't that all the more reason for you two—!”

Evil... he felt it.

That billowing darkness that followed him, summoned by the fairies that chased after him and decided to bring him ruin and misery... it was coming! And quite obviously pissed at the poor showing of robot versus monster, judging by the fact that it was heading straight for the girls instead of Negi.

“Girls, watch out!” Negi shouted. Serizawa was quick to evade, she easily cleared half the room with just one leap.

Kurusu, on the other hand, was not so lucky.

“Kurusu?!” Serizawa screamed in alarm.

She didn't even see the darkness until it was too late. The obsidian glob shot directly into her back and invaded her heart. The swirling evil energies began to expand the girls body size ever so slightly. By the time the evil deed was done, the vicious Godzilla suit was far more lively than Negi had ever seen it.

Not good.

Twisted by hatred, a fierce monster leered down at Negi. “Such powerful hunger... I will devour... you here... Negi Springfield!” With that, the nightmarish Gojikko did what any intimidating monster would do: pull out and put on a bib, followed by a handy fork and knife set! Oh, and then she roared.

Serizawa did not react. She was in shock.

“Oh no...” Negi brought his staff to the front. “She's been possessed, and none of my partners or Chamo are here...” The monster thought faster than he did and smashed a claw down in his direction, forcing him to move back. “I can do this... I can protect my students!”

But can you protect yourself? I imagine that's what our possessed Gojikko would say, as the creature easily sliced down a building before hurling it in Negi's direction. Negi mounted his staff and dodged swiftly. The creature twisted slightly and let its twin tails shoot towards Negi like a scorpion's sting. One missed, another one missed, the first one missed again...

One struck home, nailing Negi right in his chest.

Negi helplessly twirled in the air before crashing down to the earth, landing with pained scream. He dug his fingers in the ground to try and recover quickly, but bleeding in the chest area kinda makes that difficult... “This...”

Gojikko stomped closer.

“I... can't...!”

Gojikko prepared her claws for Negi-shish-kabob.

“Negi Springfield-sensei...” A quiet voice cut through the tension. At the same time, several shurikens stung Gojikko's arms. The monster stopper her assault to wail from the pain.

Akane Serizawa landed next to the fallen under-aged hero. The flap on her mask was open, showing her face. “I'm sorry for blanking out earlier... don't overdo it for my sake.”

“Serizawa-san?” Negi blinked.

The girl closed the hatch. “I'm about to redefine ninja robots. Stand back, sensei!” She pumped herself into a fighting stance.

“Are you serious?!” Negi exclaimed.

Serizawa ignored this and faced her rival-slash-friend. “I'm sorry, Kurusu-chan. All this time we've been fighting unknowingly, I've held back, see.” Behind that boxy mask, there was a sad smile. “Now that you're like this, I've got no choice anymore. I'll show you my true talent... for what may be the only time...”

Gojikko only growled.

“Why are you speaking like she can't be turned back?” Negi shouted in concern, but he was once again ignored.

“I'll end this!” She swept a hand forward, and several shurikens once again found themselves embedded within the nightmare creature. Gojikko ignored the pain this time and simply opened her jaws wide, snapping brutally at... wait, thin air?

A second later, a hard knee crashed into Gojikko's neck.

The corrupted monster girl tumbled to the ground. Serizawa was in full Roboko mode. “Piko-piko laser...” The single green eye visible on the robot suddenly glowed red, and an incredibly quick laser sliced the ground. Only a quick barrel roll to the side kept the monster from being burned or sliced in two.

Gojikko bellowed again before slamming the ground furiously and repeatedly. Roboko nearly lost her balance and even the non-participant Negi had to take to the air. When the girl in the robot suit took Negi's example to the ninja extreme by hopping on the buildings, Gojikko began swatting them down. Snarling, she aimed claws and knocked them over like bowling pins, trying to smash both Roboko and Negi.

The boy simply hung back, still too weak to really accomplish anything. “Serizawa-san...”

“Kurusu-chan! Do you hear me?!” Serizawa suddenly shouted as she leapt from an airborne model building and smashed her feet into Gojikko's head. “I know you're in there!”

The monster responded with more enraged roaring, its twin tails jabbing at the more nimble girl. After several strikes, one managed to pierce Roboko's side, sending a chunk of cardboard (or was it machinery?) and a bit of blood hurtling to the side. After the successful hit, it tried to draw in its tail back, but it couldn't.

Serizawa had it in a death grip.

“Kurusu-chan! Don't let this consume you!” Serizawa was now wailing her sentences... it was starting to get painful even for Negi, who was still some distance away. The monster apparently didn't like this either, it roared hard and began trying to smash Serizawa down with its free tail.

Braving every brutal blow, Serizawa held on.

“Dammit...” Negi cursed silently. “If only...!”

“Kuru—no, Yuzuko!” Serizawa cried to the heavens.

Gojikko stopped.

The Godzilla-esque horror stumbled back as Serizawa fell to the floor, roaring in confusion and pain. Those eyes with its mouth—no, Kurusu's eyes began to water, shedding tears. With it, the darkness began to lose its grip on her.

The darkness wasn't over just yet! With its last bit of strength Gojikko aimed its right hand to deliver the finishing blow—and the girl in the robot suit was too weak to do anything about it.

But Kurusu said no.

The creature's hand shot down—but not at Serizawa. Instead, Gojikko pierced her own chest.

Negi and Serizawa gaped in open-mouthed shock as Kurusu proceeded to manually remove the darkness from her own chest, hand shaking with pain, or perhaps fear. Lifting it as if she had pulled out her own heart, she could only manage a very weak “...help... me...”

Negi Springfield knew it was time.

Bringing up his staff, he gripped it tightly while gathering his magic strength. “Yuzuko Kurusu... I will free you from your hatred.” He bolted forward. “Ras tel ma scir magister... Weighted light, drag out this darkness! Answer my plea and return this soul to its normal form!” He reared a hand back as he approached the gob of darkness pulsating in Gojikko's hand. “TEL MA... AMORISTA!” With a punch that would've made Rakan himself proud, Negi pounded right into that darkness, blowing it away. The darkness ceased to exist, but some faint speck twirled dizzily into the air before dropping down into the floor and disappearing.

Gojikko began to crack, slowly but surely. When the cracks covered her entire body, the monster shattered, leaving only Kurusu behind. The girl slumped to the ground, landing right next to Serizawa.

Negi noted the strange orange orb forming again, this time landing on top of Serizawa. It washed away her fatigue, though the girl did not visibly recover.

That was when the doors opened. And who else to show up fashionably late but—

“BIG BRO!” Chamo scampered to Negi's shoulder. “Where have you been?! Did you beat the boss all right?!”

“I've been hunting for leads on Becky... and well, I just sorta helped. Serizawa-san beat up the boss, and...” Negi looked over to see that Kurusu hadn't been healed—she still had a nasty stomach wound. “Oh no!”

“What?! How'd she get this!?” The ermine panicked. “Where's Konoka-ane-san when you need her?!”

“Negi-kun!” The super convenient healing princess arrived, flanked by her royal lesbian guard (“Don't give the two people reading this ideas!” Setsuna objected) and Baka Pink! She noticed the bleeding from Kurusu and Negi's rather weak state. “You're bleeding, and she's bleeding badly! How long was this inflicted?”

Negi tried to process how long he felt from her shocking display. “I'd guess two minutes.”

“I think I can still do this then...” Konoka pulled out her moon wand. Pointing to the sky, she shouted, “Sata Andagi!” Rushing white light bathed Negi, Kurusu, and Serizawa, despite it no longer being necessary for the latter. Those who hadn't seen her powers before, namely Makie, marveled.

The bright lights caused Kurusu to stir. “Ugh...”

“K... Yuzuko?” For the first time since the battle ended, Serizawa spoke. She removed her helmet/mask completely. Everyone else thought it was a good idea to shut up for now.

“Serizawa-san...” Kurusu murmured. “Why...?”

“Despite who we were, I thought we could still be friends, you know...” Serizawa answered, sadness seeping into her voice. “I loved the Drama Club with all my being—it was who I was, but... And I wanted to tell you, but...”

“I wanted to tell you, too,” Kurusu responded. “But the great Roboko-san was too hard a hurdle to overcome. And you wield magic, too? We were bitter rivals, but now I can't even compare!” And she burst into tears.

Serizawa couldn't even say anything to that, mostly because it was true. And to top that off, those without magic who witness magical events must have their memory wiped...

“Forgive me for interrupting this tender moment, but I have an idea!” Chamo suddenly spoke up. Negi and his pals looked at him as if he had grown five feet. “Kurusu-ane-san! Normally the price for learning about magic is having your memory wiped out! BUT there is a nice and easy way to side step that issue! And you can make up with your old friend and rival and get a power boost in one fell swoop!”

The brunette blinked. “Eh? H-how?”

“Pactio, my dear lady!” Chamo announced.

Serizawa's face became a perfect stoplight replica. “P-p-p-pactio?! Are you insane, ermine?!”

“Pactio with you? Lawl no!” Chamo laughed, putting his tiny paws on his hips. “That makes more enemies for big bro! Just line up right here and kiss big bro on the lips!”

“Chamo-kun!?” Negi interjected.

“No way!” Serizawa sharply objected. “I'm not letting Kurusu-chan join Negi's infinitely growing harem!”

“Oh ho?” Chamo grinned. “Say how you reeeeeally feel, then!”

“Ummm guys?” Negi tried to interject. “Shouldn't Kurusu-san have a final say in what she wants?”

Kurusu cut through the arguing. “...I'll do it.”

There was only stunned silence. The girl rose and quietly walked over to Negi. Chamo activated the circle as she gazed sadly into the boy's eyes. “I really don't know what I'm doing, to be honest. I just want to know what I... really feel. So before I do this... Negi-sensei. A p-partner has to do this pactio with a mage, right?”

“Oh umm... yes!” Negi answered as truthfully as he could.

“Any mage, right?”

“...I think so.”

Kurusu's eyes suddenly became unreadable. “Then forgive me, Negi-sensei.” Instead of leaning down to kiss him, she immediately whirled behind her and attacked Serizawa's lips.

All jaws hit the floor.

Barely reacting in time, Chamo transferred the circle to the new yuri pair. “Pactiooooo!” Three twirling cards formed from thin air, circling the sky before dropping right into Kurusu's heart. “No new partners for big bro, but hey, I still get money, and with a new yuri horde challenger too! NICE!” For some reason, Konoka and Setsuna sneezed in unison.

The stunned Serizawa simply fell, butt first to the floor. “W-w-wh-what...?!”

Kurusu was in tears. “I... I don't wanna fight anymore! Or at least, not fight you! I wanted to keep following you, to the ends of the earth! You're the first person that... I mean something to!” And Kurusu hugged her, and she cried hard.

Serizawa could do nothing but hug back. “Yeah... I'll guide you...”

Negi smiled. “I dunno what's going on, but I'm glad that they talked it over and made up.”

“You'll understand one day, Negi-kun!” Konoka rubbed his back happily.

“I'm so moved!” Makie shed a tear for the obvious.

It was then the more figurative floodgates opened.

The first was a standing ovation... from the Roboko fakes.

“I'm truly moved!” One spoke, shedding crocodile tears. “Our little Serizawa is all grown up! She's already starting her own yuri pairing!” This one sounded remarkably like Howell.

“Screw you!” Serizawa shot back without letting go of Kurusu.

“She's even getting cheekier than Behoimi-chan!” A rosy voice called from a Roboko, likely Media. “I think we hit a sore spot!”

The second floodgate was a blue hedgehog, who didn't even bother with anything outside of a friendly greeting to Negi and the new yuri pair before bursting at full speed and tearing apart what was still standing of the buildings.

The ruckus immediately summoned both the drama club and the movie club, who immediately set aside their differences and raged hard enough to chase everyone out of the sound stage. Negi dodged all manner of chaotic flying objects, including random buildings, drama club props, and a blue ball of spikes going at Mach 1 against a bunch of magically inclined students in robot suits for what appeared to be no reason other than to stuff a cool five second fight.

Yeah, things stopped making sense so Negi and our pals cleared out quick.

xxx

Tired from their endless chasing ordeal, Negi, his present 3-A underlings, Serizawa and Kurusu came to a stop in a sunset-soaked hallway. “Whew... who knew that Peach Moon's students could get away with such crazy things?” Konoka panted.

“You'll get used to it eventually,” Serizawa recovered.

“Not sure about that,” Makie said, pointing to two figures stumbling into their vision in the hallway. Nodoka and Asuna, coming from separate directions, fell to a defeated heap on the floor.

“God, this school...!” Asuna complained.

“Sakurai...” Nodoka weeped after tripping for the nth time.

“Are you guys okay?” Kurusu leaned in on them curiously.

“I'm fine,” Nodoka stood up quickly.

“I've had better...” Asuna muttered. She dusted herself off and stood up, only to notice Serizawa. “Wait a second... aren't you...?”

“Yep, SMC's number two at your service,” Serizawa took a near-mocking bow towards Asuna. “But don't expect me to tell you anything about those powers that you don't already know. I'm just as clueless.”

“I'll get answers out of one of you...” Asuna hissed.

“You probably won't have time,” Serizawa coolly ignored Asuna's building rage. “By now, our 'Colonel Sanders' has probably found Becky.”

“What?!” Negi immediately came to attention, along with the shocked faces of the rest of 3-A. Had he already failed...?! What about his epic reunion scene?! He can't let Al steal the show! “Please stop.” FIIIINE.

“Wait a minute,” Setsuna suddenly stopped. “What were you guys actually planning to do once you found Becky-sensei?”

“...now that I think about it, I have no clue. The Colonel mentioned holding her accountable for something...”

“That means we have to find them even faster now!” Negi panicked. “What do we do?”

“I can assure you that's a lie.” A voice cut in.

All heads turned to see several familiar faces: the cast of 1-C had finally arrived.

“Hey ladies!” Chamo finally cheered. “What held you all up? You missed all the fun!”

Miyako, was held in an arm lock, with Himeko and Rokugou doing the honors. Rei and Ichijou stood further back. The shiny forehead girl simply cleared her throat a bit before slowly continuing. "I spent all day trying not to blow her cover, but...” The girl sighed. “I know where Becky is. I knew all along, actually.”

OUR THE UH-OH. How did she know this secret? Why did she even hide it in the first place? What has Becky been up to, if she's safe and sound? And aren't there people missing?! Tune in next time!

Well, for the missing people, you can just hang tight...

xxx

“Why did you guys forget me again?!” Kurumi wailed.

Having been stuck at her part time job, Kurumi found herself journeying alone towards Peach Moon. And with the sun pretty much gone from the sky, the night was already establishing its chilling reign across the land. Night finally took charge by announcing itself with a nasty (but all too familiar) howl.

And our ordinary girl wasn't liking it one bit.

“Guys... guys?” Kurumi murmured as she opened the door towards the school, seeing nothing. “I thought there was some big stage project between the Drama and Movie clubs today! Have they all gone home already?” Stepping in, all of a sudden, her body was awash in a feeling of dread. She was no psychic like Miyako or Nodoka was, so why she was feeling this was...

Kurumi cautiously walked further. It grew and grew, as she stepped inside, left only with the sound of her own walking. Why was this happening? Was the darkness following her? Or was she just being paranoid? Maybe she didn't watch enough horror movies, so her sense of dread was the lack of genre savvy catching up to her?

“Guys?” She called once more. Am I really no closer to them? Did they already find Becky and go home?!

Kurumi sighed. Then she heard... voices! Melodious voices! Those voices belonging to her friends! She was awash with relief. She could finally get back to her friends! So she started walking towards the sound, ready to bellow her lungs out...

A hand clamped over her mouth, and another snaked itself around her arms, locking them behind her.

“Mmph?!” Kurumi's body froze for just a brief moment before she began to struggle.

“Sshhh,” A voice, a dark and yet melodious voice, answered her struggling. Kurumi tried to turn her head to get a look at her captor, but from her vintage point, all she could see was a face of a girl... a girl with eyes so blue as to be nigh inhuman. This renewed her futile struggling.

“Ssshh... you belong to me, now,” This haunting girl whispered. “There's no need for you to find your friends yet. Perhaps it might be better for your friends to find you instead.”

And with that, Kurumi disappeared into the darkness against her will.

xxx

The sun was by now completely set, giving way to the moonlight.

Akira also heard the eerie howl that pierced the air, signaling the coming of the night. But that was irrelevant—despite being alone, comforted only by moonlight, she cared not for this situation. Why was that?

Easy—she found the school swimming pool! Ah, silly Akira. Why are you so predictable? “What can I say?” Akira responded.

...Nothing, I guess.

This pool wasn't as nearly spacious as the one back in Mahora, but it was under the stars, and it was clean. That was A-OK in her book, so she easily dived into it and let her arms and legs do all the work. The feeling of the all-consuming water was a truly refreshing thing.

She feared not the loneliness of the pool—she swam alone in more dangerous areas, and she took care of herself alright. Knowing her limits wherever she swam was key. Taking a small breather, she simply let herself go limp and float atop the water. “The moon, huh?” The waning moon returned a sleepy gaze.

Thinking in the spooky darkness, Akira recalled some rumors earlier that day. Monsters—no, MERMAIDS lurked around this place at night. Certain people have tried investigating it, but all have ended in failure. Why was that?

Rumors and mermaids made her remember a poem she read from a book once. “Mermaid, mermaid without a fight. Grant me true love through your blood tonight...” Hearing herself whisper that poem out loud, for some reason or another, nearly made her shiver and lose her lazy float in the pool. “...maybe I shouldn't feel so superstitious about this.” She murmured.

You're aware of magic, fighting devilish forces and yet you say that?

Silly girl. You just started The Darkness: Act II.

-X-X-X-

OMAKE!

In the days that followed, Ichijou often went to visit Howell in the other academy.

“Oh?” Howell gave a cheery smile. “Is there something that you'd like?”

“I'd like to learn about magic, thanks,” Ichijou answered bluntly.

“Straight to the point, eh?” Howell crowed. Putting his arms around the girl. “Okay then! I'll teach you... if you sleep with me, that is.”

“Sure, okay.”

Howell twitched. This was too easy... this was obviously a trap! “Rejected! Geez, would it kill you to blush a bit? Girls who don't protest a little aren't moe at all!”

“Ultra pervert,” Ichijou coolly countered. However, she began to think about it. After a moment, she murmured: “P-please be gentle with me. I'm nervous...” In complete monotone.

“You suck,” Howell groaned.

And so, they began to talk in a little more earnest. Ichijou explained she was actually from Peach Moon, three stops down by train. And in turn, Howell explained more about the magic world, and the legends contained within. Strangely enough, they still didn't share with each other too closely. When asked what her real name was, Ichijou answered, “Phillip Ichijou Chandler the Fourth.”

“Haha, guess I'll call you Ichijou-chan then.” Howell shrugged.

The subject shifted. “How is your significant other?” Ichijou asked, perhaps wondering if he even had a significant other.

“Oh, she raged hard on the phone last night and declared that she never wanted to see me again. I thought that was kinda cute.” Howell remarked as if he were discussing an interesting joke. “But this morning she called again and left a message, so I know she didn't mean it.”

Ichijou, at that point, felt something stir. Emotions she thought she didn't have.

I suppose I should define envy—a desire to want what you cannot have. Ichijou knew what that word meant, but she couldn't place it at the time—even when Howell placed a kiss on his girlfriend one day. Rather than stew on it, however, she decided to go home and have soup for dinner.

The following day she got up, went to school, and when that was over, took the train to the boy's school. When she met the still carefree Howell, the boy actually offered to comb her hair—a gesture that was strangely new to her. Even so, she accepted.

She began talking again. “So how is your girlfriend?” She asked.

“Oh, we broke up,” Howell answered nonchalantly. “We thought about it, and we just didn't think we were what the other was looking for.”

This was not new to Howell's life. He cycled through girlfriends, hardly holding a relationship for more than a week. Perhaps he was searching for something.

Ichijou wasn't sure what she felt about this—or the last time she felt anything. So why now?

Enough of that—she made her move. Suddenly whipping around and straddling the boy, she whispered. “I want to learn how to hex people now.”

“Oh really?” Howell asked a little nervously and too innocently.

Thus, the story of the strange duo continues.

-X-X-

(Next time: “Midnight Strikes in the Garden of Madness!” By Serizawa

Happy Valentine's Day! Funny how all this worked out. Episode 8 has actually started partway, so maybe it won't be over a month since last update this time around. Stay tuned, and tell your friends to read and review too!)